Collaboration of Hard Work and Inquisition

This entry is written in direct response to the work ethic of this class as a whole. As a level 4 | 5 student, you are responsible for representing the highest level of art-making that this program offers, and it is your duty to represent it with respect to both yourselves and to the work and energy put into this program’s making. As an instructional leader of this department, I take great pride in what we do here. I work as hard as I can to stay informed about art in its current state, and constantly seek creative and innovative ways to relay that information to my students. My goal is that the upper level students of this department accept the responsibility of being artistic leaders, and work equally hard to promote a learning environment that can take pride in its students' conceptual thought and creative art-making.

I’m writing this in reaction to the results of our Critique Week with the expectation that the work ethic and invested thinking will improve in the next nine-week period. Be reminded that you are all the role models to the students who are in levels 1,2 and 3. Those students in the lower levels will look to your example as they work through the ranks of our program. It is essential, for the future growth of our program, that your artwork is representative of a program interested in conceptual, forward-thinking artwork that is both personal and truthful.

There were many students in my classes whose work was incredibly personal and thoughtful in solving the artistic problem for the nine-week period. Though there are many successes to celebrate from our first quarter together, there were also a number of students who did not demonstrate the work ethic that this department expects of its students. I want each of you to feel like a part of this department and I want there to be a collective work ethic that is unrivaled by any other art department in the State. The only way to ensure this is to have each of you working and thinking as hard as possible while in my classes. Achieving this level of excellence reaches well beyond my classroom, and requires you all to be more aware of your self, your environment, and the art community of which we are all a part. I realize that I expect a great deal of my students, but please understand that it will never be my aim to discourage your efforts, but rather it is my goal to help you attain your own artistic and conceptual potential through a collaboration of hard work, and inquisition. We have all of the tools to become exemplary, we just have to learn to use them with efficiency, creativity, and exactitude.